Few issues are as black and white as they seem. Understanding the complexities of a problem can bring new understanding and help inform decision making.
What challenges do transfronterizo (Spanish for cross-border) students face in getting an education?
On the Arizona-Mexico border, there are many families who were affected by significant changes in immigration laws after September 11, 2001. Parents who were citizens of Mexico could legally live in the US according to immigration laws pre-9/11. Any of their children born in the US automatically became US citizens. After the immigration laws changed in response to 9/11, Mexican citizens were required to go back to Mexico, but their children could not be educated in Mexican schools because they were not Mexican citizens. The children were also not accepted in Arizona schools because they did not have an Arizona address. Therefore, families in this dilemma had to give up guardianship of their children to a US family so they could attend school.
This created many difficulties for the children and their parents, as Dr. Tessman discovered through 300 observations of 7 transfronterizo students and 9 parents over two and a half years. These issues included:
The presence of a caring, bilingual adult had the greatest impact on helping students overcome these barriers.
One of the students in Dr. Tessman’s research shared a story about being in 2nd grade and doing an experiment with baking soda and vinegar to make a volcano. She was so excited to share the experience with her mom and try the experiment at home. However, she did not know the Spanish word for vinegar. Her excitement changed to disappointment as she realized she could not share her experience with her mom. As a teenager, this student said there were thousands of these moments.
Dr. Tessman’s research has applications to students studying a variety of disciplines, including: Education, Family and Consumer Sciences, Social Work, Legal Studies and Political Science.
Click the links below for similar research that looks at the complexities of the following issues relevant in current events:
Read more of Dr. Tessman's research from the University of Arizona Campus Repository (opens a new tab).
If you would like your research or creative work to be featured in the blog, please contact Marla at mlobley@ecok.edu or at 580-559-5308.
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